When I was in grade school, there was exactly one boy (let’s call him Jerome) in our school who had a food allergy (to peanuts). Jerome was already a bit too large (he towered over the rest of us; even in grade three, he was already level with our teacher, Mrs. B’s shoulders); a bit too goofy (he had one of those snorty-hiccuping laughs, sounding slightly porcine and aquatic at the same time); and a bit too fleshy, with excess skin seeming to hang from his waistband and cheeks, his complexion as white and matte as newly painted classrooms after summer break.

I always felt sorry for him. Even though he sometimes played the class clown out in the school yard, I never saw him smiling around food. He carried his dietary restrictions around like a backpack full of rocks–at once too heavy, yet requiring great attention to avoid causing injury–while the rest of us flaunted our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.

When I first began the Anti-Candida Diet (ACD) in earnest in March, 2009, I felt a long-lost connection to poor Jerome. After all, not only did I have to eschew peanuts, but also gluten, most sweeteners, yeasts, alcohol and all moldy foods as well. No, I won’t be eating any PB&J sandwiches in the foreseeable future. And yet, after three years on the diet, I no longer feel like I’m missing out on very much (the one exception is social occasions–when we’re invited to someone’s house for dinner, or to a major event like a wedding or bar mitzvah; the industrial kitchens seem to have a tough time producing something I can eat that also tastes good). I’ve more or less accepted that this will be my diet for the rest of my life, and I don’t mind cooking my own foods. I’ve discovered that, if you keep an open mind, there’s an infinite number of new food combinations and flavors to try, even on a restricted diet.

(“It’s true, Mum–we don’t think of our diet as restricted, either, even without chocolate! We happen to love the combination of apple, cauliflower and salmon blended together in the food processor.”)

In fact, for me it’s become a kind of game, a little personal challenge whenever I spy something that looks delicious but which I’m not supposed to eat: how can I recreate that dish in a way that’s ACD-friendly? When I saw Cara’s Caramelized Onion, Shaved Butternut and Goat Cheese Pizza over on the Clean Eating webiste, I knew immediately that I’d have to reproduce it–or, at least, an allergy-friendly, low glycemic, ACD-approved version of it. I saved the recipe on Pinterest (so much more fun than bookmarking!) and thought about what I’d change.

I ended up tweaking my own Grain-Free Pizza Crust to make it not only grain-free but also starch-free; used this goat “cheese” instead of the dairy-based one; and concocted an ACD-friendly version of the condensed balsamic that worked beautifully. The HH (who, by the way, has no food allergies and can eat whatever he wants in whatever quantities he wants–don’t you just hate him?) went bonkers over this pizza. I think he wants Cara to come live with us now.

The pizza features thinly sliced, deeply browned onions, slow-cooked until sweet and languorous. They’re topped with shaved squash that’s wilted and beginning to curl at the edges, accented with crisp, toasty pumpkinseeds and bitter greens, all accented with dollops of tart, creamy goat “cheese.”

Savoring a big slice of this pizza, I felt completely happy, sated and even somewhat spoiled by the perfect symphony of flavors, colors and textures on my plate. In other words, it was the very antithesis of a “restricted” meal. Now, if only I could invite Jerome to join us. I’m sure this pizza would make him smile aound his food, after all.

1/2 recipe this goat “cheese” (omit peppercorns; the remainder is great on muffins, toast, etc.)

2 cups (480 ml) thinly sliced chard or kale

2 Tbsp (30 ml) raw or lightly toasted pumpkin seeds

For the Balsamic Drizzle (ACD Stage 3 or beyond; for ACD Stage 2, see variation below):

1/4 cup (60 ml) balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar

5 drops plain stevia liquid

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Line a large pizza pan with parchment, or spray with nonstick spray.

In the bowl of a food processor, process the beans and 1/4 cup (60 ml) oil until relatively smooth. Add the soymilk, stevia, vinegar, coconut flour, psyllium, garfava flour, buckwheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and basil and process again until the mixture comes together in a ball. Do not overprocess!

Take the ball of dough and, using your hands, pull of chunks the size of baseballs and distribute them evenly over the pizza pan. Use the final 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of oil to grease your palms and fingertips; then press the dough evenly in the pan until all the chunks come together in a single crust. Keep greasing your hands as necessary to avoid sticking. If desired, make a slight rim all around the edge of the dough. (Instead of using the extra oil, you can also wet your palms to prevent sticking while you press out the dough, but if you apply a tomato-based sauce to the pizza, it’s more likely to remain moist in that case).

Bake in preheated oven 35-45 minutes, until the crust is dry and lightly browned on the edges and bottom (if you underbake at this stage, the inside of the dough will remain moist after the toppings have been added). Top with desired toppings, then return to the oven for another 25-35 minutes, until heated throughout and toppings are cooked. Slice and serve. Makes 4-6 servings. May be frozen. To freeze, wrap slices individually in plastic and freeze until solid, then store in a ziploc bag.

While the crust bakes, make the toppings: heat oil over medium-low heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add 1/4 cup (60 ml) broth and cover the pan. Allow to cook another 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until the liquid has evaporated and the onions are soft and golden. If the onion sticks to the pan, add more broth as needed. Set aside.

Once the dough is ready, remove it from the oven and increase the heat to 450F ( C). Spread the onions evenly over the crust. Top with the greens, then the shaved squash. Scatter dollops of cheese over the top and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the greens and squash are wilted and the cheese has begun to brown a bit.

While the pizza bakes, make the drizzle: Combine the balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar and stevia in a small pot and bring to the boil. Lower heat to medium-low and cook until reduced to about 1/4 cup (60 ml), about 5 minutes. Remove pizza from the oven and drizzle with the vinegar. Serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings. May be frozen. To freeze, wrap slices individually in plastic and freeze until solid, then store in a ziploc bag.

For ACD Stage 2, use this vinegar drizzle instead: Replace the balsamic with unsweetened cranberry juice and increase the stevia to 10 drops instead of 5. Prepare as described above.

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I really feel like food allergies or a least serious food allergies had really increased since I was a kid. So hopefully more kids feel more accepted among their peers. My husband used to lie and say that he was allergic to peanuts which was better than my declarations that I just don’t like peanuts I suppose.

This pizza is so unique and flavourful looking. Definitely worth the pin.

brilliant – I love your attitude to food – I am sad that sylvia can’t have peanut butter sandwiches because I love them (but no jelly or jam) but she probably eats so much more than I had as a child despite her allergy – and of course loves pizza – your pizzas always inspire me – must try this goats cheese again as I loved it on pizza – and I want to try this pizza base some time too

Stunning. LOVE pizza. I don’t know how you remember all those details from years ago, Ricki. I hope Jerome’s life got better. Maybe he found a good partner later in life who showed him how wonderful special diets can be. 🙂

Hi Heather,
I’d say the changes are mostly textural–the taste is almost the same, but if anything, it’s more bread-like. I wanted to tweak the crust to be less moist, and this version accomplished that goal! The edges are crisper and the center is more bready. I found with the previous version that “wet” toppings (ie sauces) often got absorbed by the crust and made it too moist. This one doesn’t have that problem. 🙂

This looks absolutely lovely. I can already imagine how well those flavors play with one another – and I’m definitely going to have to check out that goat cheese recipe. Since you’ll be coming down to see Amy in Texas, come see me too! I’ll take a slice.

I’m interested in trying this pizza which my husband will be able to eat (since he doesn’t eat eggs)! I created a pizza base with haricot beans and almond flour in the summer for my SCD son and OK it’s not like your regular wheat pizza BUT it does have a lovely light base and is definitely the best SCD pizza we have eaten! I put the success down to the beans! Love them! We can’t get garfava flour in the UK nor can we get psyllium husks easily so I’d have to replace them with something else BUT I love the recipe, thank you!

Vicky, the original grain-free pizza crust recipe had neither psyllium nor garfava–those were the changes I made (the first one does have potato starch, though). This version is more bready, but the first one is delish, too. 🙂 And yours sounds great as well!

I can’t wait to try this. It’s time for a new pizza crust in these parts! I’ll be making that cheese too. Poor Jerome 🙁 I’m working so hard to make sure Callum feels good about his allergies. It’s really hard when so many of his classmates have store-bought foods in their lunch. When I made him vegan jello he said, “But Mommy their Moms don’t make the jello. They buy it.” If he only knew 🙂

Well isn’t this just totally divine 🙂 I hope you pack some in your suitcase for Nourished because I’m dying to try it! (and I’m so very flattered that you liked one of my recipes enough to veganize and de-grain it!)

This sounds fabulous, and I agree with Bitt that I need you to cook it for me. 🙂 What I’d love to see on your posts is how long it took you to make the dish featured. This will either encourage or intimidate me, as the case may be, but it would be so helpful as a gauge of how much time I’d need to create one of your masterpieces. I don’t mean for you to go back through the posts, but maybe start now — or with the pizza.

Andrea, the total time for this exact pizza (making the crust from scratch) was the time it took to make the crust itself, since everything else is done while the crust bakes (and the glaze is done while the crust-with-toppings bakes). So: two minutes to blend, one minute to pat into the pan, then baking time of 35 minutes, a minute to spread the toppings, more baking of 15-20 minutes, 30 seconds to pour the glaze. Total of 58 minutes from start to table. If you use a prepared crust, the whole thing will take under 45 minutes. And this is, definitely, one of the more complicated recipes I make! (The HH and I are both pretty lazy–the only time I am okay with extended prep time is for baking, but when it comes to savory stuff, I tend to resent anything that takes more than 30 minutes!). 😉

Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe on our new blog hop (Allergy-Free Wednesdays). I looked up the recipe for that “goat cheese” and just fell in love. Just really love your whole pizza recipe, Ricki. The crust is so creative and it’s this sort of creativity that really inspires. Thank you for being a part of our blog hop this week!